Seoul, Canberra announce new security ties, start of FTA talks

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead paras to highlight summit outcome; UPDATES with more
info)
By Byun Duk-kun
CANBERRA, March 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Australian
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to enhance bilateral security cooperation at
their summit here on Thursday and announced the start of official free trade
talks.

In a joint statement issued after the summit, the two countries pledged
cooperation in a wide range of areas, including counter-terrorism,
non-proliferation and military exchanges.
SouthKorea and Australia will "continue to expand cooperation on global
disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means
of delivery," the statement said.
The South Korean president arrived here earlier Thursday as part of a
three-nation trip that has also taken him to New Zealand and will end in the
Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
The leaders agreed to boost military and defense industry ties. They also called
for cooperation in international peacekeeping operations, joint military drills
and the exploration of Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft.
More specifically, the leaders pledged efforts to sign a "treaty-status bilateral
agreement" on the protection of classified military information to provide a
framework for exchanges between their armed forces, including trade of defense
goods.
According to the joint statement, the two countries will also hold annual foreign
minister meetings, a move aimed at "continuously developing opportunities for
cooperation" and exploring "ways of addressing wider regional and global issues."
The statement said the two nations also plan to strengthen cooperation in various
international organizations -- including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
and the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament --
to help fight terrorism and other threats in the region.
Lee and Rudd discussed the global economic downturn, with both leaders expressing
strong opposition against a growing trend toward protectionism. They also
announced the start of official negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA),
which is anticipated to give both economies billions of dollars worth of gains.
Australia is already the seventh-largest trading partner of South Korea, the
world's 13th-largest economy. Trade volume between the countries reached over
US$23 billion last year.
President Lee' has repeatedly called for international efforts to bring down
trade barriers. He announced the start of FTA talks with New Zealand during his
visit there earlier this week.
"The negotiations (with Australia) will start within the first half of the year,
as the countries hope to conclude them before the end of the year," a South
Korean presidential official said.
Seoul and Canberra held what officials called "preliminary" talks last year. A
joint public hearing on the issue was also held in the South Korean capital.
If signed, the trade agreement will be the largest pact of its kind that Seoul
has entered into since its 2007 deal with Washington. The Korea-U.S. FTA still
awaits ratification from both nations' legislatures.
North Korea was also high on the summit agenda. Lee and Rudd reaffirmed their
support for the early resolution of the North Korean nuclear issues in the joint
statement, saying Pyongyang's denuclearization is "critical to the prosperity and
security of both countries."
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)